More Than Half of Americans Now Watch Netflix

The Netflix company logo is seen at Netflix headquarters in Los Gatos, CA.Photograph by Ryan Anson — AFP/Getty Images

Movie-streaming service Netflix is now used by more than half of Americans to watch movies and television shows, according to a recent survey by RBC Capital Markets.

The survey found that 51% of Americans said they use Netflix (NFLX) to stream content, far more than alternatives like YouTube, HBO Go, Hulu, and Amazon (AMZN), according to Quartz, which published the findings.

Of course, Netflix is much different than YouTube, its nearest rival. Netflix features professionally produced movies, television shows, and original content like the popular series House of Cards. YouTube, in contrast, is with user-produced cat videos and skateboarding stunts mixed with music videos and Hollywood studio productions—both free and for rent.

Netflix’s original content has played a big role in its gaining traction overseas. Nearly 52% of respondents in France and 64% in Germany said they’ve already watched House of Cards. However, Netflix’s comedies tend to not be as popular overseas, the survey noted. Only 8% of French respondents and 10% in Germany said they’ve watched Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, a new Netflix comedy series compared with 26% in the U.S.

As of the end of September, Netflix said it had 43 million U.S. subscribers and another 26 million internationally.